Pospiš-Baldani Ruža
Date of birth:
- 1942
Place of birth:
- Varaždinske Toplice
Pospiš-Baldani Ruža
Membership in the Academy:
- corresponding member – Department of Music and Musicology (5/20/2010 – …)
Curriculum Vitae
Ruža Pospiš-Baldani, Croatian and world opera prima donna, was born in Varaždinske Toplice on July 25, 1942. She studied at the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb in the class of Prof. Marija Borčić. With the role of Ottavia in Monteverdi’s Coronation Popeye under the direction of Lovro Matačić began her great international career at the Dubrovnik Summer Games in 1964. Her pasty and powerful mezzo-soprano opens the door to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she was hired as the youngest soloist in 1966, making 72 appearances by 1972. She also sang on European stages: she was associated with the Bavarian State Opera for twenty-two years (1965-1987) participating in 170 plays; She sang 26 times at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan between 1974 and 1980, and made 18 great performances at the Vienna State Opera between 1973 and 1979. She was also guest star in a number of other reputable opera houses. In addition to an anthological interpretation of Bizet’s Carmen, the artist interpreted all the important mezzo-soprano Verdi characters, such as Amneris, Azucena, Ulrica and others, and was the unforgettable Dalila, Charlotte in Werther, Marina in Boris Godunov, Martha in Hovanščina and Orpheus in Gluck’s opera. Gradually, she profiled herself as an impressive vagnerian, and tried her hand at the modern repertoire. Critics praise the beauty of her voice, her lived acting and her beautiful stage appearance. The concert repertoire of Ruža Pospiš-Baldani highlights the works of J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Verdi (Requiem), along with compositions of the 20th century. Part of Ruža Pospiš-Baldani’s extensive repertoire has been recorded on permanent recordings. The artist performed under the guidance of the world’s most respected and local conductors, among them Herbert von Karajan, Karl Richter, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abado and Georges Prêtre, and in stagings by directors such as Jean Pierre Ponelle, Wieland Wagner and Franco Zefirelli. Her great partners on the opera scene include Martina Arroyo, Montserrat Caballé, Birgit Nilsson, Renata Tebaldi, José Carreras, Placido Domingo, Alfredo Kraus and Luciano Pavarotti.
Since 2010, she has been a corresponding member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.